One aspect of musket fire that is extremely important, yet missing from not only Jean's excellent article, but also from his sources, and one that is certainly overlooked in most wargame rules, is FIRE DISCIPLINE; And this was practiced by most nations* in the training and discipline given to their infantry. * A prime example of a nation that did not is Spain, where in one case a group of infantry, when confronted by French cavalry, opened fire well beyond musket range, then withdrew. This was due to the poor condition of untried infantry. The very nature of the smooth-bore musket negated accurate aimed fire. This was the prime reason for the armies turning to volly fire in the first place. The theory being that massed fire would replace in volume what the individual musketman lost. The greater the range to the target, the less chance of hits being scored. Therefore, battalions and companies practiced "FIRE DISCIPLINE" by which individuals were not allowed to 'fire at will', but rather when and only when their officers or ranking non-commissioned officers gave the command. Training and combat discipline demanded this. An officer who couldn't control his men would receive a reprimand from his immediate commanding officer and could even face the possibility of court martial. This 'FIRE DISCIPLINE' is still practiced by twenieth century armed forces, regardless of the effective range of their weapons. Therefore, to simply say that because a musket had a theorectical range of 'X' number of yards, and that therefore one should be allow..mus.kets to fire at that range, nullifies the factor of "FIRE DISCIPLINE", Historically, units would hold their fire to allow their target to advance closer for better hit results. Battle reports are full of examples of units under fire, who remained inactive because no orders were given to fire. The same case can be made for skirmishers firing on massed troops. Since volley fire had very little effect on skirmishers, the massed troops seldom replyed. And when they did, the results usually were poor. Therefore, rules should be formulated that allow for 'FIRE DISCIPLINE'. For example, if skirmishers were firing at a range of 14 inches against formed troops who had no other target within the musket range allowed, and the commander of the formed troops wants to return fire for effect, which seldom happened, then before rolling a dice to determine the skirmisher casualties, a 'FIRE DISCIPLINE' roll should first be attempted to release the unit from 'FIRE DISCIPLINE'. Depending upon the distance, the roll would or would not release the suffering unit from 'FIRE DISCIPLINE'. Then the regular chart for fire against skirmishers would be consulted for casualties. If the unit is not released from its 'FIRE DISCIPLINE', it does NOT fire. In this case, another dice would be rolled to see if its moral is affected. Again this is historically accurate since discipline and training were to produce men who could stand and be fire upon without ' running. I personally feel that line troops, armed with smooth-bore muskets, have far too much effective range in regards to 'FIRE DISCIPLINE". Range As to range of the flintlock musket. I would like to provide the following statements; "...and while not too accurate at more than a hundred yards." Revolutionary War Weapons by C.B. Colby, page 19, Coward, McCann and Company, New York, 1963. ".... Maximun accuracy was but 100 yards" Picture Book of the Continental Soldier by C. Keith Wilbur, Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 19690 "British Brown Bess Flintlock, circa 1717-1816, reputedly picked as the first standard British army musket by the Duke of Marlbourgh in 1717, this flintlock was nicknamed the Brown Bess by the troops because of the deep brown stock and the deeply stained metal work. With a caliber of .75 or 132 balls to a pound of lead, this weapon was effective up to fifty yards and trained troops could fire four shots per minute. The musket was one of the first issued with the socket bayonet, and was used until 1870. The Brown Bess was issued to the infantry of the line for over one hundred years, and was so successful that three and one half million were made during the Napoleonic Wars." Documentation Small Arms Museum, Fort St. Catherine, St. George's Island, Bermuda. Colonel George Hanger of the British Army, writing in 1814 stated; "A soldier's musket if not exceedingly ill-bored (as many of them are), will strike the figure of a man at eighty yards; it may even at 100; but a soldier must be very unfortunate indeed who shall be wounded by a common musket at 150 yards, provided his antagonist aims at him; and as to firing at a man at 200 yards with a common musket, you might just as well fire at the moon aria have the same hopes of hitting your object. I do maintain and will prove, whenever called on, that no man was ever killed at 200 yards by a common soldier's musket, by the person who aimed at him." To All Sportsman and Particularly To Farmers And Gamekeepers London,, 1814, page 205. Types of weapons certainly affect the results of volley firing. Jean mentioned two models of French muskets, yet the model 1763, 1766, 1770-71, 1774 and 1774 models were used by the French troops. Likewise certain British units, a battalion of the 91st Foot, was composed almost entirely of boys so young that they were issued the Fusil instead of the regular muskets. In any given smooth-bore weapon, the amount of powder used in the charge would have a great affect upon range. Although some attempt was made to standardize loads, individuals making the rounds would add a little more or a little less, depending upon the prospect of re-supply. And what about the guy who double loads or triple loads. Then there was something nice called "buck and ball", comprising three or more buckshot loaded behind a regular musket ball, or maybe even 'Swan Shot', which was basicly the same thing except that the shot was smaller. Thus, like artillery, the search and research must continue towards a set of playable yet historical rules. Additional information is still needed in this area and it is hoped that the general membership and readership can add to the above. Additional Notes Recently I returned from a working vacation on the island of Bermuda. The following information is from the "Small Arms Museum", located in Fort St. Catherine, St. George's Island, Bermuda. Fencible or Volunteer Model Tower Musket circa 1800: The .65 caliber light musket with a tower lock which was a contemporary of the light French Charleville models. This weapon has a tower market lock and was only issued to the Fencible Regiments, regiments raised for the duration of the conflict only and then disbanded. British Brown Bess Percussion Conversion: By Joesph Manton, 1918. After the Napoleonic Wars, time was available to convert some of the millions of Flint-lock muskets to the new percussion system. This system had been invented by the Reverned Alexander John Forsyth of Scotland in 1807, but had been turned down by Lord Moira, the Master General of Ordinance. Napoleon heard of the invention and offered Forsyth 20,000 pounds for his patent, but was refused. Fifty-five years later, he received 1,200 pounds from the British Government as recognition of his outstanding invention. Back to Empire, Eagles, & Lions Table of Contents Vol. 1 No. 22 Back to EEL List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1978 by Jean Lochet This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com